


Right Here, Loud and Clear

by hawksmagnolia



Series: Tumblr Prompts [4]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Deaf Clint Barton, F/M, Flex your writing muscles challenge, Hurt Clint Barton, TaserHawk - Freeform, Tumblr Prompt, Why do I do this to myself, feeeeeelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-11
Updated: 2020-07-11
Packaged: 2021-03-04 17:55:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25210492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hawksmagnolia/pseuds/hawksmagnolia
Summary: Post their breakup Clint is spiraling out of control but in the end, Darcy is there to catch him.
Relationships: Clint Barton/Darcy Lewis
Series: Tumblr Prompts [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1767943
Comments: 7
Kudos: 43





	Right Here, Loud and Clear

**Author's Note:**

> The song lyrics in bold are strictly for backstory purposes and anything in italics is signed.

Clint was having an utter shit day. He wrapped an arm around his possibly ( ~~definitely~~ ) broken ribs as he staggered off the Quinjet. They were only part of the laundry list of complaints that his body was bitching about, loud and clear. His ears ached from his aids, desperate for a break after 36 ( ~~ish, he wasn’t sure what day it was anymore~~ ) hours, his left thigh was bandaged with duct tape ( ~~It works better than that stupid liquid bandaid shit Natasha tried to put on it and stings a hell of a lot less~~.) and his body was a constellation of bruises and scrapes. Natasha tried to touch him and he nearly bit her head off. She had backed off, her eyes dark with worry but she hadn’t pushed.

Clint Barton was just straight-up stick a fork in him done.

Dragging his gear bag, he skipped the infirmary and went straight to his apartment. Which, he realized belatedly, was a bad idea.

Before, his apartment would be been filled with music, the smells of food, and…her.

**“Met this girl**

**Thought she was crazy for me**

**Crazy in love**

**Is all I wanted us to be**

**Something special”**

Instead, it was cold, silent, and dark. He knew there was no food in his fridge because he had lacked any motivation to cook. He lived on takeout or whatever Natasha forced on him. ( ~~Not like he was very hungry these days. He knew he was too thin, he saw it in his friends’ faces~~ )

He really was a trainwreck.

**“Yeah, something to remember**

**But that was way back then**

**Sometime last September**

**Tore me to pieces**

**Yes she tore me apart”**

Without bothering to turn on the lights, he slung the bag into the closet and kicked it shut. Normally he’d pull everything out of it clean it. Tonight? Tonight he couldn’t be bothered. He knew if he sat down that getting back up wouldn’t be an option. Not with his busted ribs. He toed off his filthy boots and left them in the middle of the entryway, shoving aside the sounds of her laughing voice in his head.

_“Seriously Clint? Are you trying to kill me with your boots?”_

He closed his eyes, willing the memories away. Sometimes he found himself reaching for her in the night only to be met with nothing but a memory of her in that space of his bed.

He was being haunted by someone still alive.

**“Don’t know what is wrong with me**

**Or why I want a new start**

**Oh, I am stuck here**

**Picking up the pieces**

**Shattered remains of this broken heart”**

Lurching a bit, he made his way towards his ( ~~cold, empty~~ ) bedroom and then to the bathroom beyond it. He twisted the tap to just shy of scalding. He turned his back to the mirror, unable to face the reality of his battered body.

Being a deaf former carnie kid in a team of literal superheroes wasn’t always fun. He pulled the hearing aids from his ears and let them fall to the counter behind him. One of them slid across the slick surface and fell to the floor but even if he had heard it, he wouldn’t have cared. The relief from removing them was so swift that combined with the loss of the hearing they afforded he found himself dizzy.

He hissed in pain as he slowly began the laborious process of unbuckling his tac vest. Struggling to get it off his shoulders while still holding his ribs he swore angrily when soft hands stilled his. His head snapped up as his blue eyes locked on her green ones.

She bit her lip as she helped get the vest from his shoulders, her eyes filling with tears. She looked sleep rumpled, dressed in black shorts and a black tank top. She must have come straight from bed to here. He could see the contusions that were blooming across his ribs and it didn’t look good. Her touch was achingly soft as she checked over the rest of his chest, the intricate tattoos on his left arm.

Clint hadn’t seen Darcy apart from passing glances in the hallways for nearly four months. They’d drifted past each other like the previous two years had meant nothing.

Denial is a powerful drug but avoidance even more so.

She said something but her beautiful face was turned away so he couldn’t read her lips. He tapped her ear and when she looked up, the tears had fallen down her cheeks.

_“Why didn’t you go to the clinic?”_ He hadn’t realized how much he’d missed her hands forming a language that she learned for him.

_“It’s not that bad.”_

“Liar.” She frowned as she began to peel his duct tape bandage from his leg. The blood had clotted and dried, adhering it to his flesh. He groaned and she shook her head.

_“Get in. I can’t do anything until it’s wet.”_

_“Really, I got it. Thank you.”_ He couldn’t meet her eyes. He pushed off the counter, stumbled. Her arm wrapped around his waist, steadying him. She carefully cleared the small step into his shower and winced at the heat of the water. Her arm still firmly wrapped around him, she pulled him under the spray. Once he was braced with his free arm, she knelt back at his feet, the water pounding on his head as ran her hands over his right leg, looking for any other injuries.

Clint kept his eyes down, feeling a bit stunned. He wasn’t sure if it was her being here or the amount of dirt and old blood that was swirling down the drain. When the water finally ran mostly clear, Darcy slowly peeled the ripped fabric and sticky tape away from the gash. Her gentle fingers stopped when she got a better look at it. She jumped to her feet, tilted his face to hers, and glared at him. Her fingers flew, the silent version of a pissed off Darcy.

_“Are you trying to get yourself killed?! Nat called and told me what you did. Said you’d refused to get any help. If that gets infected it can get into your bloodstream! What the fuck is wrong with you?!”_

He just shrugged. Nothing he could say to justify his actions beyond a desperate attempt to feel something besides hollow.

_“Do you think Nat doesn’t care? Steve?”_ She paused. _“Dammit, I care Clint. I was wrong to say what I did. We were both wrong. But I need you to care too.”_

He felt her staring at him, half-dressed, battered, and bloody. His normally lanky frame was running towards emaciated, the shadows dark under his eyes. He looked like shit and he knew it. Now she did too. He shoved his wet hair out of his eyes and slowly straightened. He released his side with a wince before he answered her.

_“Fix me, fix me_

_Say that you miss me_

_Tell me all the lovely things_

_That I want to hear_

_Tell me, tell me, loud and clear_

_That you still really want me_

_‘Cause I’m right here”_

When he finished, he reached for her and she came, wrapping her right arm gingerly around his waist and put her forehead on his chest. With her left hand, she fingerspelled ‘Y-E-S” above his heart.

**Author's Note:**

> My first attempt at TaserHawk as more than friendship, I think I'll be back. <3
> 
> Song referenced is ‘Right Here’ - Chase your words
> 
> [ My tumblr ](https://hawksmagnolia.tumblr.com)  
> Leave me some love! -xo-


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